Most/many devs know how to push notifications for less than 30 min intervals eg few top weather apps

Push notifications are instant and not restricted by any time limit. It is background tasks that have a 1x/30 minute limit. However, in order to have push notifications, the developer needs a server to handle the push notifications, the cost of which, many have no desire to incur.

But then you're left with the problem of having to exit your app and find the ME tile on your homescreen. It isn't nearly as efficient as the competition.

Point well taken. Obviously MS has to come up with something as efficient as the "peek" feature in BB10. Perhaps one way to avoid having to close the app you're in would be to long press the Windows button, which would bring in the notification center from either side or the top.

There's nothing inherently more logical or intuitive in putting a notification center onscreen with a swipe from left than with a press of the left arrow, or the Windows button... not sure why people think so. Whatever way they go, a user will have to learn to do it.

For the most part I'm ok without a notification center just as far as emails and text messages go. Between the lock screen and live tiles I'm good.

But there are times I really need some sort of notification center. Here's an example:

I use my phone as an alarm clock. When I snooze the alarm and then get up before it goes off again I have to open the alarm app and turn that alarm off then on again. When I had an Android I would open notifications and right there would be "Alarm (snoozed)" I'd touch that and it would go away.

I'm still new to WP8 so maybe I'm missing something but I found a few things I liked about Android needlessly missing on WP8. Simple things. A screen orientation lock. Independent volume controls. Quick access to these setting and others like wifi, blue tooth,settings or GPS right there on a notification center. A few other things as well but they are things I feel I just need to learn and spend some time with.

I love my WP and am loving it more and more as I go along here. I didn't as much at first though but I had a lot of preconceived notions on how to use my phone. I had to change some habits and routines but it's getting better all the time. Also I know there is a big update coming.

And a of couse there are things about WP8 that blow every other phone out if the water! Photo hub is amazing and I love how it gathers all your social networking stuff there too. There;s so many things that the phones do very, very well and I love them. Best keyboard ever too! Just wish I could add swear words to my dictionary!

So I have to exit to the start screen, then swipe left to view notifications? Too long, too inconvenient. There should be one gesture I can do to view notifications from within any app. And swiping from the left will cause many unintentional swipes since we hold the phone from the sides.

So I have to exit to the start screen, then swipe left to view notifications? Too long, too inconvenient. There should be one gesture I can do to view notifications from within any app. And swiping from the left will cause many unintentional swipes since we hold the phone from the sides.

So I have to exit to the start screen, then swipe left to view notifications? Too long, too inconvenient. There should be one gesture I can do to view notifications from within any app.

Yes, you tap a hardware button and swipe to the right. Do you also have trouble accessing the app list? Where are the complaints that the app list/grid is too hard to access on Windows Phone and Android because they aren't one gesture away? And swiping from the top could in fact be harder, with the large devices we have today.

Why is there a distinction for accessing notifications "within" an app? What difference does it make? You're pulling down a full screen notification centre on iOS and Android. What's the difference between that and bringing up the start screen, which happens to have an integrated notification centre?

After reading all your replies and thinking about it more, if we want to be able to access the notification centre from anywhere, swiping from left might be no good for either notification centre or apps switching as it's too easy to make gesture mistakes.

Long-hold the Windows Key could be annoying 'cause it takes more time to react. Also we probably can't have similar gestures like BB10 as we have three keys down there and they vibrate when you touch them.

So, maybe we go back to what we didn't want at the beginning, put it on the top, behind system tray? Note that the system tray's background is transparent, so a notification centre can sit behind it. I know I know this is too similar to iOS and Android, but I guess that's why they put it there in the first place - the most logical location for a notification centre.

Long-hold the Windows Key could be annoying 'cause it takes more time to react.

Is that opinion based on the time it takes to launch TellMe? That would be an invalid comparison. Imagine it working as fast as calling up the task switcher via tap&hold-back-key. That is certainly fast enough and not annoying.

Originally Posted by JustinXinLiu

Also we probably can't have similar gestures like BB10 as we have three keys down there and they vibrate when you touch them.

Again, the reason we won't get OS specific gestures (e.g. show notification center) that work from within any app, is because WP wasn't designed to support that. More importantly, changing that design now will break existing apps.

Vibrating keys at the bottom of the screen would be the least of Microsoft's/WP's problems.

Notice that the status bar can only be pulled down from 1st party apps? Same reason.

Is that opinion based on the time it takes to launch TellMe? That would be an invalid comparison. Imagine it working as fast as calling up the task switcher via tap&hold-back-key. That is certainly fast enough and not annoying.

Again, the reason we won't get OS specific gestures (e.g. show notification center) that work from within any app, is because WP wasn't designed to support that. More importantly, changing that design now will break existing apps.

Vibrating keys at the bottom of the screen would be the least of Microsoft's/WP's problems.

Notice that the status bar can only be pulled down from 1st party apps? Same reason.

The status bar can be pulled from any bar, it is the dev's choice whether to have it available or not.

The status bar can be pulled from any bar, it is the dev's choice whether to have it available or not.

lol, great. Shot myself in the foot with the worst possible example. Using the only system wide gesture, as an example for their non-existence, isn't that clever. :-)

The point I wanted to make is still valid though: WP places the jurisdiction over gestures entirely into the hands of app developers. That WP doesn't even lay claim to the edge-swipe-down gesture (to reveal the status bar) highlights that fact.

Theoretically, MS could reverse that policy, by belatedly picking any particular gesture and claiming it as WP's means of opening the notification center. However, as previously stated, that would break those apps which already use that gesture themselves.

This is the main reason a system wide gesture won't be the the means by which MS gives us access to the notification center.

Why is there a distinction for accessing notifications "within" an app? What difference does it make?

Hope you don't mind me jumping in.

I believe there is no definitive answer to your question, or at least none that we can reach through logic.

Case in point: What if I asked you the opposite question? Why is the swipe-from-start-screen gesture better than tap&hold-search-key? Is there a compelling and logical answer? I can't think of one.

I would prefer tap&hold-search-key, primarily because I imagine the NC (notification center) to also be the most intuitive place to implement universal search (search mails, text, toasts, carrier and VoIP calls, IM's, etc). To me, accessing universal search through the search-key sounds like a good idea.

I also believe that a NC should feature much less prominently on WP than on iOS or Android, since everyone already has their most important notifications on the start screen. I feel it is therefore justified to tuck WP's NC away in a less prominent position, while reserving that easily discovered area to the left of the start screen for something more central and important. I suspect many users will only very rarely use the NC, if at all, just as many in this thread have hinted at. Does the NC then really need that front row seat next to WP's start screen?

Finally, I imagine usability tests might reveal advantages to the tap&hold-key approach, as that "feels" more like you are launching a new app (the NC), from which most would correctly expect tap-back-key to return them to the previous app. In contrast, using tap-win-key "feels" more like you are exiting the current app and sliding into the NC. For many, using tap-back-key to return to where they previously were won't seem as intuitive.

I realize these aren't slam-dunk arguments, but I doubt you will get any such arguments, no matter which approach you prefer.

Last edited by a5cent; 02-11-2013 at 11:04 AM.
Reason: formatting only

Case in point: What if I asked you the opposite question? Why is the swipe-from-start-screen gesture better than tap&hold-search-key? Is there a compelling and logical answer? I can't think of one.

My argument here is that the "notification shade" implementation isn't heads and shoulders above other implementations. I think the long press of the search button is one of those alternative implementations which should be considered. It's perhaps not as easily found as the left of the start screen, but I also think it's no less obvious than swiping down from the status bar. I wouldn't have a problem with any of these four implementations (with the drawbacks in parentheses):

- Left of the tiles on the start screen (you don't get the impression of the notifications being accessible from within the app)
- Long press of search button (slightly obscured, long presses aren't too desirable)
- Long press of Windows button, TellMe moved to long press of search button (confusion with moved functionality, slightly obscured, long presses aren't too desirable)
- Swipe down from status bar (status bar not shown in all apps, slightly obscured, copying the "notification shade")

However, I will say this - toast notifications are as they are so that they can be seen, easily. You have to be careful not to over-obscure the notification centre, as that would be counter-intuitive to the point of it.

My argument here is that the "notification shade" implementation isn't heads and shoulders above other implementations.

Yeah. I'm sure the notification shade approach can be ruled out on WP. Being able to pull down the NC only some of the time, the rules for which are completely arbitrary (just as it is now with the status bar) introduces unnecessary inconsistencies. That is just asking for trouble. It won't happen.

Otherwise I agree. All of these approaches are viable. None are principally inferior to iOS' and Android's approach.

Here's why Live Tiles just aren't enough. I've got more apps that I want notifications from than I can possibly fit on my start screen (Unless I put them all to small size, but why would I do that?). The most I can do is just put the most important ones up at the top, and just periodically check the others. It's annoying. A NC would let me check all of them, including the less important ones, with a simple gesture.